SBIG SG-4 Operating instructions

Brand: SBIG

Model: SG-4

Category: Telescopes

Type: Operating instructions

SBIG SG-4 is a standalone autoguider designed to be used for guiding a CCD camera or Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) Camera at the focus of a telescope when taking a long exposure. The autoguider can be used with a separate guide telescope or in an off-axis guider. The device has a T-thread interface on the front, and SBIG provides a 1.25-inch nosepiece for users that do not have a T-thread coupling on their scope.

The autoguider is operated from 12 volts DC and requires 190 milliamps average current draw (2.3 watts). It can easily be operated by portable battery power systems.

SG-4 Autoguider

Operating Manual

SBIG Astronomical Instruments,

A Division of Diffraction Limited.

| 59 Grenfell Crescent, Unit B, Ottawa, ON Canada, k2G 0G3

Tel: 613.225.2732 | Fax: 225.225.9688| E-mail: [email protected] | www.sbig.com

Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the

limits for a Class B digital device pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules.

These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against

harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment

generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not

installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause

harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no

guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If

this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television

reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and

on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or

more of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the receiver and the equipment.

• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that

to which the receiver is connected.

• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

Shielded I/O cables must be used when operating this equipment. You

are also warned, that any changes to this certified device will void your

legal right to operate it.

_________________________________________________________

OPERATION Manual for SG-4 CCD Camera.

Revision 1.0 June 24, 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................... 2

DESCRIPTION OF THE SG-4:............................................................... 2

II. INITIAL SETUP:.......................................................................... 4

SETUP WITH A COMPUTER:................................................................. 4

SETUP UNDER THE STARS:................................................................. 7

TRACKING:........................................................................................ 9

RE-PROGRAMMING THE SG-4:......................................................... 10

III. SG-4 STAND-ALONE OPERATION...................................... 11

OVERVIEW....................................................................................... 11

STAND-ALONE GUIDING – STEP-BY-STEP ....................................... 11

TROUBLESHOOTING:........................................................................ 13

IV. THE SG-4 INTERFACE SOFTWARE ................................... 14

INTRODUCTION................................................................................ 14

MENUS ............................................................................................ 14

File Menu................................................................................... 14

Setup Menu ................................................................................ 15

WINDOWS AND DIALOGS................................................................. 15

Main Window............................................................................. 15

Status Bar................................................................................... 17

Serial Port Setup Dialog............................................................ 18

Guiding Parameters Setup Dialog............................................. 19

SG-4 Log Dialog........................................................................ 20

V. FURTHER HELP........................................................................ 21

CONTACTING SBIG ......................................................................... 21

APPENDIX A: BLUETOOTH RS-232 OPERATION ................. 22

APPENDIX B: CONNECTORS ..................................................... 32

APPENDIX C: TYPICAL SPECIFICATIONS............................. 33

I. Introduction

Description of the SG-4:

SBIG’s SG-4 Stand-Alone guider is designed to be used for

guiding a CCD camera or Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) Camera

at the focus of a telescope when taking a long exposure. The design

assumption was that the SG-4 would be mounted on a separate guide

telescope firmly mounted to the side of the main imaging telescope.

While it is possible to use the product successfully in other

configurations such as in an off-axis guider, it is much easier to use in

its intended configuration with a separate guide scope. The main

attribute of the SG-4 is that, once setup and focused with a PC, a

computer is not needed. This is what SBIG means by Stand-Alone

operation.

Figure One: Front View of SG-4 Stand-Alone Guider

The other important attribute of the SG-4 is it is meant to be

a true single button guider. The button turns guiding on, and turns it

off. We wanted the user to spend his or her time imaging, not

struggling with a guider. You don’t need a Ph.D. to use it!

Figure One shows the front view of the SG-4. The unit has a

T-thread interface on the front, and SBIG provides a 1.25 inch

nosepiece for users that do not have a T-thread coupling on their

scope. The unit is 2.8 by 4.3 by 3.5 inches (71 by 110 by 88 mm) is

size (WxHxL), and weighs about 1.0 pound (0.4 Kg). It operates

from 12 volts DC and requires 190 milliamps average current draw

(2.3 watts). As such, it can by easily operated by the portable battery

power systems popular in astronomy.

Figure Two: Connector Plate View of SG-4

Figure Two shows the connector side of the SG-4. 12 volt

power is brought in through a connector with a locking thread collar,

and an illuminated power switch is included to turn the unit on and

off. A 9 pin RS-232 connector provides for connection to a PC. At

this time SBIG only offers software for Windows based computers.

An I2C connector and External LED power are included for future

expansion capabilities. Near the bottom is a button for starting and

stopping the guiding, an LED to indicate status, and a toggle switch

to designate which side of a German Equatorial mount you are on.

Finally, there is a phone jack with ST-4 pinout connections to

interface to the mount. The relays are mechanical, so no relay box is

needed for any commercial mounts.

SBIG chose an RS-232 interface for a variety of reasons.

First of all, this device was not intended to be used with a computer at

all times like our other products – the computer was optional. So a

fast interface was not that important for normal operations like

viewing images and focusing. Secondly, our customers often have

problems with USB when trying to extend the cable beyond the

standard 15 feet. With the RS-232 link this guider can communicate

over 150 feet cable runs with no special equipment. Finally, with RS-

232 the user has the option of employing a Bluetooth wireless link

and eliminating the cable altogether. Since the SG-4 is also used in

our AllSky camera having a wireless capability is very useful. With

the optional USB to RS-232 adapter SBIG offers one can

communicate at 460Kbaud over 150 feet of cable with no problem.

At this rate a full image with 16 bit accuracy can be downloaded in

15 seconds.

The SG-4 includes a shutter for automatic, remote collection

of dark frames. The CCD used is the Kodak KAI-340 interline CCD,

which has a high gain output stage allowing this device to routinely

achieve readout noise levels below 15 electrons rms. The CCD is not

cooled, but the dark current is quite low, allowing exposures longer

than 120 seconds for other applications. The maximum stand-alone

guiding exposure is 10 seconds.

II. Initial Setup:

Setup with a computer:

A computer is needed only for this initial setup. After the

setup is completed, the SG-4 can be used without connecting to a

computer unless you wish to download images or control the SG-4

remotely. A detailed description of the software is found in Section

IV. SBIG recommends becoming familiar with SG-4 operation in a

comfortable setting, someplace warm with plenty of light, before

using it at the telescope. Begin by installing the software on your PC

or laptop that will later be used to setup the camera.

• Make sure you have administrator privileges on the PC, and

insert SBIG’s software disk. A screen should pop up in a

few seconds. Select “SG-4, AllSKy-340” software to install

and, on the next screen, select “Install SG-4 Software”. The

software should install automatically. You might also

choose to install CCDOPS at this time. (Note – CCDOPS

will not communicate with the SG-4. It can display FITS

files saved with the SG-4 Program, but that is all.)

• Next, connect the supplied 9 pin serial cable between a serial

port on your computer and the RS-232 port on the SG-4. If

your computer does not have a serial port, one can be easily

implemented using an USB-RS-232 converter. One we have

had good luck with is the FTDI US232R-10-BLK, but there

are many to choose from. We stock this converter if you

wish to purchase it, and the drivers are also on the software

disk.

• Install the drivers from our software disk, select the “Install

USB-to-RS-232 Drivers” option under the SG-4, AllSky-340

selection.

• Finally, hook up the power to the SG-4 camera, making sure

the connector is well seated and does not wiggle. Power up

the supply, and flip the small recessed Power On/Off switch

toward the lettering. The red LED in the switch should light

steadily.

If you are using a laptop with no CD drive you must first

copy the needed files over to a thumb drive with another PC and then

load the files from the thumb drive. The files you need can be found

on the CD. Copy over the “SG-4 Software Installer” and “USB-

to_RS-232 Driver Installer” folders to the Mini via the thumb drive.

Run the executable files under these folders to install the software.

In either case the software will by default be installed to the

“C:\Program Files\SBIG\SBIG SG-4 Interface Software” directory.

You can either run the SBIG SG-4.exe software from that folder, or

from the desktop shortcut that is generated automatically during the

software installation. Launch the SBIG SG-4 software. You will see

the screen shown in Figure Three.

Figure Three: SBIG SG-4.exe Opening Window

Once you have installed the software, begin setting up the

SG-4 by establishing communication with the SG-4. Do this using

the Setup menu item - Serial Port. This will open up a window you

can use to test the RS-232 link. There you can enter the COM port

and the baud rate, and hit TEST. If you are successful, a box will pop

up saying so. Note that when the Test Button is pushed, it

automatically tries to communicate with the camera on the selected

COM port, starting at 9600 baud and working it way up in speed. If it

successfully finds a camera it tells the camera to switch to a higher

baud rate and try that. If it cannot communicate at the higher baud

rate, it reverts back to the last successful baud rate. This all happens

automatically without user control. The reason you need to know this

is if you try the camera indoors on a computer with a fast link, and

then move outside to a laptop with a slower link, the camera may not

communicate. When this happens, the camera can be reset to 9600

baud by turning off the power, and holding down the Guide On/Off

button while powering up the camera, and holding it until the status

LED turns red. Then when the Serial Port command is run it will start

out at a baud rate that will work on any machine (9600).

Once you have successful communication click the “Take

Image” box and the computer will automatically initiate an exposure

of the commanded length and download it to the PC. The counts in

the image under the cursor will be automatically displayed in the bar

at the bottom of the program window when you drag the mouse over

the window, so you can check that you are sensing light by trying

exposures in the dark and such. Also, clicking the small arrow on the

left side of the screen (near the “Take Image” box) will open up a

camera control window that allows you to capture a dark, or a binned

image for focusing or experimentation. In normal operation you

don’t need the commands under this window but they are handy for

initial checkout. The binning is done on-chip. Once you are

comfortable that the camera is working properly you are ready for the

next clear night!

Setup under the stars:

Mount the SG-4 to your intended guide scope using either

the T-ring threads on the face of the SG-4, or by means of the 1.25

inch nosepiece that is provided with the camera, screwed into the T-

ring threads. One should use a guide scope of at least 100 mm focal

length with the SG-4. A focal length of 200 to 400 mm is optimal,

with as fast an F/number as you can find. We estimate that 95% of

the time the SG-4 will find a guide star bright enough for a one

second guide exposure if your guide scope F/number is F/7 or faster.

A small, quality 60 to 80 mm aperture refractor is ideal. Point the

telescope at a bright star (but not the moon or a planet), start up the

SG-4 software, select a 1 second exposure, select the “Continuous”

box, and click the “Take Image” box. The software will repetitively

take images and display them. This can be slow, but start this way

your first night. You should see out-of-focus star images. Adjust

your guide scope focus until the images are only a few pixels out of

focus, which can be slow, and then click “Abort”. When the process

stops, adjust your exposure time if necessary (i.e., if the counts are

over 10,000 in the center of the star), and then select “Focus”. Focus

will take a full image, after which you click on the brightest star and

tell it to resume. It will then zoom into a small focus box that updates

more rapidly, speeding the process.

If you have a slow baud rate, you can speed up initial

focusing by opening up the camera control window and selecting 2x2

binning. This will download 4 times faster, which makes it easier to

initially find a star but is not as good for final focusing.

The assumption we have made here at SBIG is that you will

leave the SG-4 attached to the guide scope and do not change the

focus, or you will mark or scribe or lock down the drawtube so you

can repeat your focus position in the field without a computer, once

you have determined it.

Once you have found the best focus (it is not that critical for

guiding), make sure the phone guiding cable is connected between

your mount and the SG-4. Position an isolated bright 3rd to 5th

magnitude star located within 20 degrees of the celestial equator onto

the center of the SG-4 field using the “Take Image” and

“Continuous” controls, and click “Calibrate Guider”. The guider will

attempt to calibrate the mount speed. A pop-up text window will

appear so you can see the process. The SG-4 starts out with a series

of small moves with the “X” relay, which should be in the Right

Ascension direction, but by no means is necessarily in the X-direction

on the screen or on the CCD. Once it detects movement, it knows the

backlash has been taken out of the mount and it makes a few long

moves to calibrate the speed. Once it finishes in X the SG-4 will

assume the speed in the –X direction is the same, but in the opposite

direction, and it will start the same calibration process in Y. When it

finishes it will display the calibration vectors it found. It is a good

idea to check out these vectors to see if the speeds are reasonable.

Most mounts correct at a speed of around 7.5 arcseconds per second,

which is about 5 pixels per second with a focal length of 1000 mm.

With a 200 mm focal length it will be 1 pixel per second. When the

calibration finishes save your calibration text file so you can send it to

customer service at SBIG if there is a problem. The calibration you

obtain should work at any declination so, as long as you don’t rotate

your camera or the guide scope, or reposition the guide scope on your

main scope, the vectors should be good. If you have a German

Equatorial mount take note of the position of the East/West toggle

switch on the back of the SG-4 and remember to keep it in the same

place when on the same side of the pier. Do not worry about which is

East and which is West – it doesn’t matter as long as you remember

which side of the pier you were on. Note, however, that the SG-4

assumes that +X and –X correspond to RA motion for this switch to

function properly with a GEM. If you flip the telescope to the other

side, flip the switch to flip the calibration vectors. NOTE: if you

forget to flip it the mount will immediately run away in one axis

while tracking, with your corrections getting longer and longer. That

is how you will recognize this problem. Also, if calibration fails, you

will not be able to track.

Tracking:

To track, close the text window if it is still up from

calibration, and click “Start Autoguiding”. Another text box opens

up to show the results. The SG-4 begins by taking a series of

exposure, each time increasing the exposure time, until it finds a

guide star. When a suitable star is found it starts guiding. The mount

should begin tracking the star with a series of rapid corrections

between every exposure, if necessary. If the star is lost due to clouds

the SG-4 will start beeping, but the star has to fade a lot, by 10X or

so, before it will be lost. When you are done guiding you can click

“Abort” in the text window and the process will stop, and you can

save the results. To review these results later, or those from

calibration, use the Windows Notepad program, or Word, to open the

files.

Under SETUP you will find a Guiding Parameters choice,

which allows you to customize the tracking somewhat. The MIN

MOVE is the smallest move the SG-4 will bother sending to the

mount. Most mounts barely respond to corrections less than 0.1

second in length, so we recommend you leave this correction at 0.05

seconds. The MAX MOVE command stops the mount from making

a big move. This is useful since satellites do occasionally drift

through the track box, or you might get a radiation hit on the detector

within the track box that could also cause the mount to jump away

from the star momentarily. This setting should be set to 0.5 to 1.0

seconds.

You can also set the guiding aggressiveness.

Aggressiveness tunes the response of the SG-4 and mount to the star

position error. Lets say the star is 5 pixels off the desired position

and the correction speed is 10 pixels per second. With an

aggressiveness of 1.0 the mount would make a full move of 0.5

seconds. If the aggressiveness is 0.2 then the move would only be a

fifth as much, or 0.1 second. With a good mount with little periodic

error you should set the aggressiveness low to minimize the guider

trying to follow the star hopping around in moments of poor seeing,

say to 0.2 to 0.5. If your mount has a lot of periodic error you should

set the aggressiveness to 1.0 or the star position will lag behind its

actual position when the mount pointing is drifting. The

aggressiveness can be set to different values for X and Y. Since Y is

usually Declination, where errors occur slowly even on a mount with

poor periodic error performance, it can be set lower than X. Wn

tracking is successful the status LED on the back of the SG-4 panel

will blink green between exposures.

Re-programming the SG-4:

Program updates will be available from time to time for the

SG-4, and the device is easily reprogrammed in the field using the

following procedure:

1) within the SBIG SG-4 INTERFACE program, select HELP

from the top task bar menu, and select ABOUT

2) click the REPROGRAM button

3) browse to the new program file (.BF2)

4) select “OK”

At the end of reprogramming turn power off to the camera and turn it

back on to force a fresh boot of the camera. You will also want to

perform a fresh calibration.

III. SG-4 Stand-alone Operation

Overview

Once you have set up the SG-4 as described in the preceding

sections, no computer is needed at the telescope. In fact, except for

initial focus, most of the setup could be done without a computer.

When the SG-4 is powered up, but doing nothing, the STATUS LED

glows a steady red. To calibrate the SG-4 at the telescope, simply

hold down the GUIDE ON/OFF button about 5 seconds until the

STATUS LED flashes red slowly and then release it. The LED will

blink red a few more times, and then go to a faster blink rate while

the SG-4 looks for a star. When it finds the star, and is calibrating, it

will blink green. The calibration will proceed automatically. When

the STATUS LED goes to steady RED again, calibration is done. To

start tracking, depress the GUIDE ON/OFF button momentarily. The

STATUS LED will blink rapidly red while the SG-4 searches for a

star. After the unit finds a star and begins tracking the LED blinks

green. To stop tracking before moving to another field press and hold

the GUIDE ON/OFF button until you see the STATUS LED revert to

a steady red glow. Then release the GUIDE ON/OFF button.

Stand-Alone Guiding – Step-by-step

Power

10.5 - 14V DC is required on the Power In connector to operate the

guider.

Guide Port

A 6P6C connector and cable must be connected between the SG-4

and the mount's guide port. See the appendix of this manual for

wiring details.

Calibration

• Power-on the SG-4, wait for the Status LED to turn solid

red.

• Push and hold the Guide On/Off button until the Status LED

blinks slowly red (about 5 seconds).

• Immediately release the Guide On/Off button.

• After the slow blinking stops, the Calibration process will

begin by attempting to find a star to calibrate on. During

this process the Status LED will blink red at various rates.

• If a star is found, the Status LED will change to green, and

will continue to blink at various rates.

• If no star is found, the Status LED will change to solid red.

• When the calibration is complete, the Status LED will

change to solid red. The calibration vectors are stored in the

camera's non-volatile flash memory, so if power is lost the

camera can be guided again without re-calibrating.

Guiding

• Power-on the SG-4, wait for the Status LED to turn solid

red.

• Push and release the Guide On/Off button. The Status LED

should now blink quickly red.

• After the fast blinking stops, the Guiding process will begin

by attempting to find a star to guide on. During this process

the Status LED will blink red at various rates.

• If a star is found, the Status LED will change to green

indicating guiding is active. The Status LED will continue

to blink at various rates. Guiding will continue until

aborted.

• If no star is found, the Status LED will change to solid red.

Aborting either Calibration or Guiding

• Push and hold the Guide On/Off button until the Status LED

is solid red.

• Release the Guide On/Off button.

• The Status LED may turn off momentarily.

• When idle, the Status LED will be solid red.

Troubleshooting:

If you find you are getting elongated stars in your guided

images there are a few tests you can do to narrow down the culprits.

If short guided exposures of 1 to 2 minutes exhibit good guiding, then

the problem is most likely field rotation due to poor polar alignment,

or differential deflection. If you have an Alt-Az mount, you will only

be able to take exposures of 30 to 60 seconds before the stars at the

edges of the field smear badly. This is easily recognized since the

stars are smearing about a point in the field. If you are on an

equatorial mount, then even with poor polar alignment you should not

see this effect on exposures less than 15 minutes in length. With

good alignment you can go hours.

Differential deflection is very common. This occurs when

the guide scope pointing direction shifts relative to the main scope as

the combination rotates and the gravity load changes direction. It

may not even be in the mounting of the scopes – the primary mirror

on a Schmidt-Cassegrain scope might shift slightly. The problem is

such that one can usually go 5 minutes, but seldom more than 15

minutes, even on a good setup. It can be reduced by making sure

your guide scope (or main scope) does not have a sloppy focusing

mechanism (it doesn’t take much!), your SCT secondary adjustment

screws are not loose, your guide scope is not loosely clamped in O-

rings or soft felt rings, and you have at least two well spaced rings to

hold the guide scope. Fortunately with CCD cameras and even

DSLR cameras, exposures of 5 to 15 minutes are commonly used

when aggregating multiple exposures. With film, however, where

individual exposures can be an hour long and it can take a day or two

to see your results, this problem is non-trivial to solve.

IV. The SG-4 Interface Software

Introduction

The SG-4 Interface Software is a tool for setting up the SBIG SG-4

Stand-Alone Guider. The steps for setting up the SG-4 are described

in the previous sections of the manual. This section describes the

software commands in more detail. The software provides the

following functionality:

• Guider parameter adjustment

• Min/Max Move

• X and Y Aggressiveness

• Focus Assistance

• Image Capture

• Image Saving (JPG or FITS)

• Initiation and monitoring of:

• Stand-Alone Calibration

• Stand-Alone Guiding

Further details about the functionality of the SG-4 Interface Software

can be found by browsing the software help files.

Menus

File Menu

The File Menu offers commands to save the most recent image

downloaded from the SG-4.

Commands

Save As FITS...

Opens the Save As dialog box. After a file name is entered, the

software will save the current image in FITS format.

Save As JPG...

Opens the Save As dialog box. After a file name is entered, the

software will save the current image in JPG format using the

current screen stretch.

Exit

Closes the application.

Setup Menu

The File Menu offers commands to save the most recent image

downloaded from the SG-4.

Commands

Serial Port...

Opens the Serial Port Setup dialog where the RS-232 port settings

can be configured.

Guiding Parameters...

Opens the Guiding Parameters Setup dialog where the parameters

for the internal guiding routines can be set.

Windows and Dialogs

Main Window

The SG-4 Interface Software main window contains the most

commonly used functions when operating the SG-4 guider.

The main central region is available to show the most recent image

taken by the SG-4.

Entries

Exposure Time

Sets the exposure time for the next image. The minimum exposure

time supported by the SG-4 Interface Software is 0.01 seconds.

The maximum exposure time is 655 seconds.

Continuous

Causes the SG-4 Interface Software to continually take images

when the "Take Image" button is pushed. When not checked, the

software will take only one image.

Background

The pixel value that will be assigned to absolute black in the

displayed image. This value is disabled when "Auto Scale" is

checked.

Range

The span of pixel values between absolute black and pure white in

the displayed image. This value is disabled when "Auto Scale" is

checked.

Commands

Take Image Button

Takes an image of the specified exposure time. While the exposure

and download are in progress, this button text will change to "Abort

Image". If "Continuous" is checked, the software will continually

take images until the "Abort Image" button is pushed.

Abort Image Button

Stops the current exposure and download. When the abort process

is complete, the button text will change to "Take Image".

Focus Button

Starts the Focus process. This process begins by taking a low-

resolution image and displaying it in the image area. While the

exposure and download are in process, this button text will change

to "Abort Focus". When the low-resolution image is ready, the

status text will state "Click on a feature to focus on..." and the

button text will change to "Continue".

Continue Button

After a clicking a feature in the image to focus on, pushing this

button will continue the focus process. After clicking the button

text will change to "Abort Focus" and a full-resolution sub-frame

image will be displayed in the image area. The sub-frame will

continuously be updated until the "Abort Focus" button is pushed.

Abort Focus Button

Stops the Focus process and returns the software to an idle state.

Auto Scale

Automatically adjusts the Background and Range for the current

image. Un-check this to allow manual setting of the Background

and Range.

PC Based Guiding

Causes the "Calibrate Guider" and "Start Autoguiding" buttons to

execute the guiding on the PC. This requires user intervention in

the guider setup (star identification), but also allows image

monitoring during calibration and guiding. This function is

currently disabled.

Stand-alone Guiding

Causes the "Calibration Guider" and "Start Autoguiding" buttons to

execute the stand-alone guide functions within the SG-4. This is

faster and completely automated, but only outputs a textual log

during calibration and guiding.

Calibrate Guider

Executes the guider calibration routine.

Start Autoguiding

Executes the guiding routine.

Status Bar

The SG-4 Interface Software Status Bar shows current information

about the state of the software.

Indicator Description

• The first item shows the current RS-232 COM port.

• Second is the current RS-232 baud rate.

• Next is the current pixel location where the mouse is

pointing in the image and the pixel value of this location.

• Fourth is the status text for the current process. Depending

on the current process, this text will change.

• Last is a progress bar indicating progress of whatever is

listed in the status text. In the screen capture above, the

image download is about 70% complete.

Serial Port Setup Dialog

The Serial Port Setup Dialog allows setup and testing of the RS-232

port.

Dialog Entries

COM Port

This specifies the COM port number that the SG-4 is connected to.

If you have multiple COM ports, you may have to experiment to

determine the correct number or try the "Find Camera" button.

Baud Rate

The drop-down list shows all the baud rates supported by the SG-4

and this software. The default baud rate for the camera is 9600

baud.

Find Camera Button

After pushing this button, the software will scan all the currently

active RS-232 ports on the PC and attempt to talk to the SG-4. If

the SG-4 is found, the software will then try to determine the

maximum baud rate the SG-4 can successfully communicate at. If

you have other RS-232 devices connected, this routine may send

data to these devices. Expect undetermined operation from these

devices when using this function.

Test Button

Pushing this button will cause the software to attempt to connect to

the SG-4 camera. If the software finds the camera at the specified

COM port, but at a different baud rate it will attempt to change the

baud rate to the requested value. If it cannot communicate with the

camera at the requested COM port or baud rate the test will fail. If

the test succeeds, the Ok button will be enabled.

Ok Button

This accepts the COM Port and Baud Rate and closes the dialog.

Cancel Button

This discards any changes to the COM Port and Baud Rate and

closes the dialog.

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SBIG SG-4 Operating instructions

Brand: SBIG

Model: SG-4

Category: Telescopes

Type: Operating instructions

The autoguider is operated from 12 volts DC and requires 190 milliamps average current draw (2.3 watts). It can easily be operated by portable battery power systems.

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SBIG SG-4 Operating instructions

SBIG SG-4 Operating instructions

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